World War Memorial Stadium
Encyclopedia
World War Memorial Stadium, more commonly known as War Memorial Stadium, is the name of a baseball
park in Greensboro, North Carolina
, USA. It is situated on the northeast corner of Lindsay Street and Yanceyville Avenue, northeast of the downtown area and near the campus of North Carolina A&T University
.
It was the home of various local minor league baseball
clubs off-and-on from 1930 through 2004. A&T and also Greensboro College
continue to use the stadium as their home field. It also continues to be used for other amateur baseball events. It was also the home of A&T football until they opened Aggie Stadium on their campus some years ago.
, on November 11, 1926. At the time, there had of course only been the one World War
.
The stadium was originally built mostly with American football
in mind, resembling a backwards "J" and with a running track. In 1930 the Greensboro "Patriots" of the old Piedmont League set up shop there, after a few decades at Cone Athletic Park (near the Cone Mills plant a couple of miles to the northeast), and made various improvements such as the installation of lights and a roof for the box seat area.
The field was initially laid out with the diamond centered on the curved part of the "J", with short foul lines and a deep center field, like a very-scaled-down version of the Polo Grounds
. Later the diamond was rotated clockwise and repositioned, and the field assumed a fairly normal shape except for right center, which was abnormally close due to the presence of a creek.
The ballpark's age and its cramped quarters began to be a notable problem for the minor league club once the minor league explosion of the late 1980s and early 1990s was under way. Various cosmetic renovations were made, such as building a kind of stadium club ("The Grandstand") in the left field corner seats, as well as a fairly large concession stand outside the third base stands. The stadium also received many seats from Philadelphia's old Shibe Park after Shibe's demolition.
Another issue was the condition of the field. With so many games being played there by the Patriots (later renamed the "Hornets" and then the "Bats") along with the college teams, the turf took a serious beating during the long hot North Carolina summer, and required frequent replacement with new turf.
In order to put the city in a position to possibly upgrade to AA level ball, in the early 1990s the minor league club owners began lobbying for a new ballpark. Their efforts finally succeeded in the early 2000s, and the new First Horizon Park
(now known as NewBridge Bank Park) opened just north of the downtown in the spring of 2005.
. During the minor league club's tenure, the three arches were decorated with quarter-sphere awnings covered in red, white, and blue cloth respectively.
The stadium has a pair of bronze plaques framing the archway and listing the area's war dead during 1917-1919. Close examination of the right-side plaque reveals that there were actually two alphabetical lists. Some sources say that this was a separation of white from "colored" in the conventional apartheid practice of that era. The marker between the two lists was later roughly chiseled away.
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
park in Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the third-largest city by population in North Carolina and the largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. According to the 2010 U.S...
, USA. It is situated on the northeast corner of Lindsay Street and Yanceyville Avenue, northeast of the downtown area and near the campus of North Carolina A&T University
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University is a land-grant university located in Greensboro, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest publicly funded historically black college in the state of North Carolina.NC A&T is a constituent institution of the University of North...
.
It was the home of various local minor league baseball
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
clubs off-and-on from 1930 through 2004. A&T and also Greensboro College
Greensboro College
Greensboro College is a four-year, independent, coeducational liberal-arts college, also offering four master's degrees, located in Greensboro, North Carolina, and affiliated with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1838...
continue to use the stadium as their home field. It also continues to be used for other amateur baseball events. It was also the home of A&T football until they opened Aggie Stadium on their campus some years ago.
History
World War Memorial Stadium was dedicated on the 8th anniversary of Armistice DayVeterans Day
Veterans Day, formerly Armistice Day, is an annual United States holiday honoring military veterans. It is a federal holiday that is observed on November 11. It coincides with other holidays such as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day, which are celebrated in other parts of the world and also mark...
, on November 11, 1926. At the time, there had of course only been the one World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
The stadium was originally built mostly with American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
in mind, resembling a backwards "J" and with a running track. In 1930 the Greensboro "Patriots" of the old Piedmont League set up shop there, after a few decades at Cone Athletic Park (near the Cone Mills plant a couple of miles to the northeast), and made various improvements such as the installation of lights and a roof for the box seat area.
The field was initially laid out with the diamond centered on the curved part of the "J", with short foul lines and a deep center field, like a very-scaled-down version of the Polo Grounds
Polo Grounds
The Polo Grounds was the name given to four different stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used by many professional teams in both baseball and American football from 1880 until 1963...
. Later the diamond was rotated clockwise and repositioned, and the field assumed a fairly normal shape except for right center, which was abnormally close due to the presence of a creek.
The ballpark's age and its cramped quarters began to be a notable problem for the minor league club once the minor league explosion of the late 1980s and early 1990s was under way. Various cosmetic renovations were made, such as building a kind of stadium club ("The Grandstand") in the left field corner seats, as well as a fairly large concession stand outside the third base stands. The stadium also received many seats from Philadelphia's old Shibe Park after Shibe's demolition.
Another issue was the condition of the field. With so many games being played there by the Patriots (later renamed the "Hornets" and then the "Bats") along with the college teams, the turf took a serious beating during the long hot North Carolina summer, and required frequent replacement with new turf.
In order to put the city in a position to possibly upgrade to AA level ball, in the early 1990s the minor league club owners began lobbying for a new ballpark. Their efforts finally succeeded in the early 2000s, and the new First Horizon Park
First Horizon Park
NewBridge Bank Park is a minor league baseball park opened in Spring 2005 by the Greensboro Grasshoppers of the South Atlantic League. The park is on the block bounded by Bellemeade, Edgeworth, Smith, and Eugene Streets in downtown Greensboro, North Carolina, United States.The team moved here...
(now known as NewBridge Bank Park) opened just north of the downtown in the spring of 2005.
The archways and the plaques
One of the stadium's notable features is an ornate, triple-arched entrance, which made a cameo appearance during the "road trip" segment of the 1988 movie Bull DurhamBull Durham
Bull Durham is a 1988 American romantic comedy baseball film. It is based upon the minor league experiences of writer/director Ron Shelton and depicts the players and fans of the Durham Bulls, a minor league baseball team in Durham, North Carolina....
. During the minor league club's tenure, the three arches were decorated with quarter-sphere awnings covered in red, white, and blue cloth respectively.
The stadium has a pair of bronze plaques framing the archway and listing the area's war dead during 1917-1919. Close examination of the right-side plaque reveals that there were actually two alphabetical lists. Some sources say that this was a separation of white from "colored" in the conventional apartheid practice of that era. The marker between the two lists was later roughly chiseled away.
Dimensions
After the field was rotated...- Left Field - 327 ft.
- Left Center Field - 387 ft.
- Center Field - 401 ft.
- Right Center Field - 337 ft. (later re-posted as 350, but 337 was probably accurate)
- Right Field - 327 ft.